Yin Ji - Guangzhou's popular congee joint in Singapore

As I continue to try overseas food in Singapore, Yin Ji is the latest overseas outpost I'm featuring. I'm assuming they are not only known for their congee and Cantonese fare, their rice rolls should be their main feature considering their Chinese name is 银记肠粉店 (translated to Yin Ji Rice Rolls Stall). This feature is made up of 2 visits, with the first one done way back in May last year. I got too busy with work and travelling and simply forgot about them till my more recent visit.

The "Boat" Congee ($6.50) seen here is a mix of char siew, fried eggs, fish and peanuts. The congee has the smoothness of typical Cantonese fare but lack the sweetness in flavour. To be very honest, I felt a little clueless how to appreciate this rendition of congee because it felt so 'chapalang' (mixed up) that it reminds me of my mom throwing in whatever she could find in the fridge to cook a dish.

The sliced pork congee ($6) perhaps gives the eater less identity crisis. However the richness in flavour is still lacking. Considering how near Guangzhou is to Hong Kong, then the traditional Cantonese standards seems to be open for interpretation.

So partly because of the Congee experience, I stayed away from the restaurant till very recently where I found my favourite Dumpling Noodles ($6.80) in CBD! The Yin Ji's rendition hits all the right notes. Using typical Cantonese noodles similar to those you find at Mak's Noodles, this one managed to get rid of the strange plastic taste which usually puts me off. The broth is also adequately flavourful, with the pork dumplings sufficiently seasoned, in my opinion might even shame some of those Michelin star wonton mee outlets in Singapore.

Yin Ji also introduced some new dishes to its menu this month. One of them is the Salted Pepper Chicken Chop Noodles ($6.80) that is fairly delicious. The chicken is fried till it's really crispy on the outside and fairly tender inside. It might be worth trying if you want something new.

The egg rolls at Yin Ji is the highlight that caught my attention right from the beginning. Having eggs inside the egg roll is something new to me. The Fresh Prawn Egg Rolls ($7.50) did live up to expectations and the eggy rice roll is indeed preferred over the plain ones I usually eat. The sauce used also managed to hit the right notes considering the common assumption that China style cooking is always heavy in the saltiness. All in all, while it might not be out of this world, I felt it was worth my calories.

Would I come back? Honestly, it's a yes and a no. For practical reasons because I work in CBD, I might eat here again due to its fairly decent sitting arrangements and it has air-condition. However, I'm not really impressed with the food except for the Dumpling Noodles. I doubt this will be a place I would choose to impress someone unless I'm craving for dumpling noodles. Haha!

Yin Ji
Far East Square, 133 Amoy Street #01-01 S048775

Yan Ting @ St Regis Singapore

Yesterday was 元宵节, the 15th day of Chinese New Year. I spent the entire week eating to be honest and at the rate I go, I'm going to put on 5kg at the end of this year. Vain Pot is going overseas for a work trip so we spent the weekends shopping in town. I also discovered that if I think about ice cream in the Orchard side of Orchard Road, there's no special ice cream I can come up with besides Llao Llao. All the nice sweet desserts are congregating at Orchard Central, Orchard Gateway and 313 Somerset.

We finally tried Yan Ting at St Regis after shortlisting it 2 years ago. There was a time we were dim sum crazy and tried the really good dim sum at Royal China. Ladyironchef rated Yan Ting his top two dim sum alongside Royal China, so we really wanted to try the premium version of quality dim sum. The article was written 2-3 years ago. In any case, I promised Vain Pot I'll bring her to try however, given the myriad of food selection in Singapore along with our individual weekly cravings, we kept putting this visit off. So it's with great excitement that I'm finally fulfilling a promise and trying a much anticipated dim sum.

We kick started our meal with Shrimp Dumpling with Ginseng Soup ($14/pax). The soup was rich in flavour and the shrimp dumpling definitely met expectations that it was well prepared. Shrimp was fresh and crunchy and the entire dish was an exquisite experience.

We also tried the Char Siew Bao ($7 for 3), Steamed Scallop Dumplings with Spinach ($9 for 3), Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings ($9 for 3), Dumplings filled with Celery, Lotus Root and Mushroom ($7 for 3) and Mini Egg Tarts ($7 for 3). The Char Siew Bao met expectations, it was soft and fluffy, char siew was marinated with slight sweetness making the dish just right for the palette.

The rest of the dishes on the other hand while well executed really lacked the 'wow' factor. It probably matches every competently done dim sum at many known establishments but it didn't give me the satisfaction of having eaten dim sum. In fact, this experience kind of made me swore off premium dim sum in the future. It's too overrated and the price premium has nothing to do with the quality of the chef but rather the service and premium ingredients used. I'm not sure if this has to do with a drop in quality standards since it's rated a top dim sum 2-3 years ago.

Will I be back again? Not for the dim sum. I noticed that my surroundings were eating the other mains so if I'm feeling rich and indulgent I might come back to try the mains. As for dim sum, I'm sticking with my all time favourite at Royal China.

Yan Ting 
The St Regis Singapore, Level 1U, 29 Tanglin Road
(Please note that complimentary parking is offered for spending of a minimum $100)